Tow-line package.



J. D. BASCOM.

TOW LINE PACKAGE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1911.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

JOSEPH D. BASCOM, 01E ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

TOW-LINE PACKAGE.

rooaess.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

Application filed. February 23, 1911. Serial No. 610,402.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrni l). BASCOM, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and useful lmprovements in Tow-Line Packages, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to tow-line packages, and has for its object toprovide an improved tow-line that is particularly adapted for use intowing automobiles and other vehicles.

The tow-line consists of a wire rope or cable having means for attachingeither end thereof to an axle or the framework of an automobile or othervehicle and, when not in use for towing, the tow-line can be carried aspart of the equipment of the automobile or other vehicle, the rope orcable being coiled and the attaching means being contained wholly withinthe coil, so that the complete towing outfit is relatively small andvery compact and takes up practically no more space than the coilitself.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, inwhich like numbers of reference denote like parts wherever they occur,Figure 1 is a top plan view of a complete tow-line, as it appears whencoiled; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the front end of an automobilewith the towline attached to the front axle.

As a wire rope is considerably thinner than either a hemp or cotton ropehaving the same ultimate strength, it is for this reason that the rope 1is preferably formed of wire, so that, when same is arranged in a coil2, as hereinafter described, said coil will take up less room than acoil that is formed of either a hemp or cotton rope having the samestrength and length of said wire rope. Each end of the rope 1 isprovided with a thimble 3, which passes through an eye 1 of a hook 5,said rope being bent to fit into the concaved exterior side of saidthimble, after which the end of said rope is spliced in the usual mannerto the main part thereof and secured thereto by means of wire seizing 7.The cross-sectional configuration of each hook 5 is preferablyoval-shaped, the thickness of same being less than the Width thereof sothat the hook is relatively flat. When the rope 1 is used as a tow-linefor an automobile 8 or other vehicle, the hook 5 at one end of the rope1 is preferably attached to the front axle 9 of said automobile by meansof a sling 10, and the hook 5 at the other end of the rope 1 ispreferably attached by means of another sling 10 to the rear axle 9 ofanother automobile (not shown) by means of which the automobile 8 isdrawn, or if desired, the last-mentioned hook 5 can be attached to aswingletree or doubletree (not shown), so that the automobile 8 can bedrawn by a horse or horses. The sling 10 that is attached to the axle 9and the sling 10 that is attached to the axle 9 are located at or nearthe centers of said axles so that the pull upon rope 1 causes theautomobile 8 to travel in the proper direction without skidding.

Each sling 10 is preferably formed of hemp or the like and is twisted sothat naturally it assumes an t l-shaped or other configuration, when itis not attached to either of the axles 9 or 9 or when it is attached tothe coil 2 in the manner herein after described. In order to attach asling 10 to the axle 9, said sling is held with the parts thereof thatcross each other against the rear side of the axle after which the upperloop 11 of said sling is bent forwardly over the top of the axle and thelower loop 11 of said sling is bent forwardly underneath the axle, so asto meet the upper loop 11 in front of the axle, and then one of thehooks 5 is passed through both of said loops, thus holding said slingfirmly around the axle. The other sling 10 is similarly attached to theaxle 9 so that the parts of said sling that cross ,each other arelocated on the front side of said axle. By this arrangement of eachsling 10, the pull upon same is distributed to four thicknesses thereof,whereby each sling is capable of sustaining a pull four times as greatas its allowable working strength. By reason of using a hemp sling 10,same can be attached to either of the axles 9 or 9*, as here inabovedescribed, more readily than a wire rope, and will grip the axle withsuflicient firmness to prevent same from sliding back and forth upon theaxle, and will not scratch or wear the paint off the axle as would bethe result if a wire rope were used.

When the rope 1 is not in use for towing purposes, or the like, same isarranged into a coil 2, and the several loops of the coil are boundfirmly together by a cord or wire 12 or a plurality of such cords orwires. In arranging the rope 1 in a coil 2, the length of each loopthereof is predetermined approximately so that the two hooks 5 willtouch or nearly touch each other, and then the hooks 5 are connected byone of the cords or wires 12 that binds the several loops of the coil 2together. In practice it is preferable to use four cords or wires 12 forbinding the several loops of the coil 2 together and said cords or wiresare spaced at approximately equal distances apart, one of said wiresbeing used to connect the hooks 5 and to bind said hooks to the coil 2as well as to bind the several loops of the coil together, another oneof said cords or wires being preferably located directly opposite thehooks 5, and the two remaining cords or wires being used to bind the twoends of the rope to the coil 2 as well as to bind the several loops ofthe coil together. The two endless slings 10 in their 8-shaped or otherconfiguration are then placed one upon the other within the open spacesurrounded by the coil 2 and are bound to said coil by means of a cordor wire 13 or a plurality of such cords or wires. In placing the slings10 within the coil 2, said slings are preferably arranged so that theloops 11 of one are approximately above the loops 11 of the other, and,also, that a loop 11 of each sling rests upon the hooks 5. It ispreferable to use four cords or wires 13 to bind the slings 10 to coil2, two of said cords or wires being used to bind the two loops 11 thatrest upon hook 5, and the two remaining cords or wires being used tobind the other two loops 11 to said coil. In binding the two loops 11that rest upon the hooks 5 to the coil 2, the two cords or wires 13 arepreferably passed through the hooks 5, respectively, and are therebyprevented from slipping in either direction on said coil. By reason ofthe hooks 5 being relatively flat, the combined thickness of either hookand a sling 10 laid thereon is approximately the same as the thicknessof the coil 2.

By arranging the rope linto a coil 2 and tying the slings 10 within saidcoil in the manner hereinabove described, the complete tow-line isextremely compact and takes up a relatively small amount of space andcan be readily carried as part of the equipment of an automobile orother conveyance. Because of its compactness, it can be placedunderneath the chauifeurs cushion seat where it will be free fromabrasion and consequent injury such as it would suffer if carried in thetool-box or elsewhere in the machine.

From the foregoing description the manner in which the tow-line is usedfor towing an automobile or other conveyance that becomes stuck in themud .or otherwise disabled and, also, the manner in which the tow-lineis formed into a package so that same can be carried as part of theequip ment of an automobile or other conveyance are evident.

I claim:

1. Atow-line package comprising, in combination with the tow-linearranged in coiled form, a pair of endless slings for forming the meansof connection between the tow-line ends and the vehicles, said slingsbeing arranged in superimposed relation on the interior of said coil andhaving portions in engagement with substantially diametrically oppositepoints of sald coil, and a series of cords tied around the convolutionsof the coil and said portions of said slings to bind said partstogether.

2. Atow-line package comprising, in combination with the tow-linearranged in coiled form and having a hook at each end which hooks aredisposed adjacent to each other, a pair of endless slings for formingthe means of connection between said hooks and the vehicles, said slingsbeing arranged in superimposed relation on the interlor of said coil andhaving portions in engagement with substantially diametrically oppositepoints of said coil, portions of said slings seating on said hooks, anda series of cords tied around the loops of the coil, some of said cordsextending around the coil, portions of the slings adjacent to the hooks,and through said hooks.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

JOSEPH D. BASCOM.

Witnesses:

GLADYS WALTON, GEORGE G. ANDERSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

